Double Double Toil and Trouble
by A.Single.Gal
Summary: [Clawen AU] Two-part Halloween Special to my fic 'It Had to Be You', set about 6 months after their school trip to the zoo. Claire and Owen celebrate Halloween with their kids; trouble makers Mason and Lizzie who already have their own tradition going on; from wearing themed pajamas and watching Halloween movies, to making sure those party poopers who don't give candy get pranked
1. Part One

To kids, there were only two holidays that truly mattered; Christmas and Halloween. You could add their birthday if that counted. The reason behind this was very obvious; they both revolved around them. For Christmas you got presents and for Halloween you got candy. Birthdays were just the best of two words in one; you got presents, candy, and on top of it, cake too!

For Lizzie and Mason, it didn't get better than Halloween. Not only because of the spooky decorations, costumes, and the massive amount of candy; but because they could be mischievous and get away with it.

They had been best friends since they could remember and they always went trick or treating together. Even for their short age, they already had a tradition of their own going. Both moms prepared for the madness and knowing what to expect, they always made sure everything went accordingly for them. This year, however, it would be a little different...

It was Lizzie's first year spending the day with her dad. She was very excited about this; mostly because he had shown to be a little more open minded in many things unlike her mom.

The blonde girl wasn't the only one looking forward to this, Mason's mom was too. Claire and Owen had been dating for a few months now, both kids completely used and welcomed to the relationship by then. They were the biggest enthusiasts, it was always fun to spend the day hanging out with both of them. It was until Claire and Owen had met when the kids could experience first hand what it was like for their other friends to share family time — sure, Lizzie had her step-dad but he was just a sack of boring in a suit.

Owen had been getting tips about how Halloween went from both ends, both his favorite girls feeding him what was important to them. It sounded like a headache, try figure out how to make both happy ...but he had mastered it by then, or had he?

Lizzie had shared with him the entire tradition and had made emphasis on what was important for Mason and her. He had to make sure everything worked perfectly, the last thing he wanted was to disappoint his little girl. She was a very demanding one, sometimes too demanding for being just seven years of age. The tricky part? Everything Lizzie found important was also the red flags Claire had pointed out to him, those little details where she needed his support so the kids wouldn't go overboard.

Each year, Brenda and Claire took turns. Last year it had been Lizzie's mom the one to deal with the kids all day long. This year it was Claire's turn and she was glad she'd have some help. Anyone who had had a close insight into Mason and Lizzie knew they were an earthquake together.

The kids' tradition started with a two-night sleepover, mom and dad dating turned this into a massive pajama party; which the kids were loving. Either Claire or Brenda would struggle to have them in bed at a regular time, after all, Halloween was still on a school day. This year Owen had worked his charm and convinced the redhead to let them stay up until their bodies gave out. It would be the teacher's problem to deal with two kids deprived of sleep after all. Heck, he even pitched the idea that having them lacking energy would make their teacher's day easier — they even owe it to her.

Since her promotion at work, Claire had been able to afford a bigger bed. Her room now felt small with the king size bed in there. But it always came handy since all four of them fit perfectly.

They had ordered pizza for dinner and had added Owen's secret ingredients to it; half with MMs and the other half with gummy worms. They also had ice-cream for late dessert and cherry coke always seemed to be a favorite. It was a no brainer why it was already ten at night and both seven-year-olds were still fully awake enjoying their movie marathon. The kids were watching The Nightmare Before Christmas, a movie Claire already knew every line to.

Part of the tradition was to wear spooky pajamas and that included the parent. They didn't like it when the adult would ruin the spirit by not wearing one. Lizzie was wearing a grey long nightgown with little black cats, white ghosts, and orange pumpkins in it. She was resting on her belly, the Halloween themed paper plate holding her food in front of her. She was singing along the movie while pinching the gummy worms off her pizza and eating those first.

Mason who was wearing two-piece glow in the dark skeleton pajamas, was sitting next to her. Claire had already taken precaution of his disgusting way of eating and had cut his slices into little squares for him to eat and avoid a sauce mess over his pajamas and her comforter.

Both kids were on the edge of the bed, in front of the 32-inch television leaving the rest of it free for both parents.

Claire used the same pajama (if you could call it that) every year; she had a black tee that read 'I'm too old for this sheet' with a ghost sheet on the center, she wore a pair of black flannel pants with it. She was probably the one enjoying this the most out of the four of them. A mother's priority was always their kid's happiness and Mason had never been this excited about Halloween before — and that said a lot. He had been bragging all week about how Owen had helped him with his costume, the kid had grown a nice little bond with her boyfriend — and even if Owen couldn't tell; this gave him major brownie points from mom. She had both her arms wrapped around her man's waist, snuggling tight against him.

This was Owen's first time, so he had taken the whole pajama thing seriously; he had gotten a pumpkin sleepwear that had had Claire laughing for a few minutes. He was smiling down at her, his lips gently pressed against her forehead making her look up and steal a kiss from him.

"This is the best Halloween ever." She murmured against his lips.

"Yessssss!" Both kids concurred without taking their eyes away from the tv.

"Agreed." Owen kissed the tip of her nose. "Do you have your costume ready?" He wondered, his fingers gently brushing that beautiful red hair off her face.

"Oh, no." Claire shook her head, "I don't wear costumes."

"Not even after bedtime?" He chuckled. "You'd make a grrrrreat nurse or a foxy secretary." He teased her.

"Only if you'd be the patient or the messenger..." She bit on her lower lip before turning the volume on the tv up so it would keep the kids distracted enough to stay away from their little bantering.

"Messenger? REALLY?" He curved an eyebrow, but didn't hesitate steal a kiss from her.

Claire shrugged before pulling him closer for yet another kiss.

"But no, I'm more the doctor or the boss kinda guy." He explained, she was not dating any submissive wimp! Owen slowly brushed his fingers over her hip, smiling at her before kissing her soundly.

The redhead giggled, "you want to make clear who is in charge?...and I kinda like it." She assured him with a groan, her lips rolling up his chin while her hands traveled up his chest.

He tilted his head and smirked softly, "Okay kids, time for bed!" He demanded.

"Na-ah! You said our bodies would determine when it was time to sleep." Lizzie reminded him.

Claire shrugged, "too bad you didn't team up with me earlier, huh?" She pursed her lips before reaching out for another slice of pizza.

Owen knew she had a point there, but his body wasn't appreciating the way she had taught him that lesson.

"Just imagine... they would have been in bed long ago and you and I would be playing with your syringe by now... _doctor_."

* * *

Four feet jumping up and down the bed was what woke the snuggled couple up the following day, "It's Halloween! It's Halloween! It's Halloween!" Both kids kept cheering while bouncing around.

It wasn't until Lizzie tripped and fell on her dad's face when they finally stopped, "oops..." She giggled.

Claire was laughing lying next to Owen, his arms still wrapped around her waist under her top. She always enjoyed it when the kids' behavior came hit him in the face — literally. "Do you need me to kiss your boo-boo?" She reached out and softly rubbed his cheek, playfully planting small kisses all over his face.

The man happily took them for a few seconds before agreeing it was time to get up and work on getting some breakfast done, "Halloween pancakes!" Both seven-year-old jumped off the bed and ran to the kitchen to get all they needed ready.

Claire cupped Owen's face and kissed him soundly one last time before they both got out of bed. He headed over to the kitchen to work on doing their pancakes. Claire headed to the shower, she had to get ready for work.

It took Owen a few minutes to get the mix ready. He followed the instructions on the box making sure he didn't miss one ingredient. He picked Lizzie up and let her pour one full ladle in the pan.

The blonde girl sniffed gently and carefully completed her task. He then placed her back on the floor and picked Mason up. He let the kid sprinkle some chocolate pieces and MMs left overs from the previous night on it and once the boy had done so, he placed him down.

Owen waited what he thought was enough time before he turned the pancake over with the paddle, letting it cook. "How about you set the table while this is done?" He smiled and both kids nodded before helping with that task.

Once that first pancake was ready, he let each kid help out with the second one. This time letting Mason pour the pancake mix in the pan and Lizzie sprinkle some candy on it. He found some fruit around and started to cut it while he waited for the pancake to cook. He fixed his girlfriend a bowl with banana, strawberries, grapes, and some granola and seeds.

Once both kids had each their pancake, he went looking for the strawberry syrup in the fridge and also brought the chocolate one and the orange juice out with him. Both kids found their chair and sat happily waiting for the adult to serve them some juice.

"Who wants blood on their pancakes?" Owen wondered.

"Meeeee!" Both kids raised their hand.

Owen poured some of the red syrup over Mason's pancake and stopped himself just in time before ruining Lizzie's, "you get ghost blood, instead!" He recalled she was allergic to strawberry and poured some chocolate syrup on hers.

Lizzie grabbed her fork and cautiously started to cut a piece so she could bite. Mason was on his way to using his hands, "whooa!" Owen quickly stopped him, remembering that Claire always cut his food in squares or a mess was bond to happen. The man grabbed his fork and knife and cut that pancake in small pieces so the kid could eat and not get any one in trouble.

Owen let them be and went back to his pancake making. He was working on doing a second one for him when two gentle arms hugged him from behind. The smile on his face was as bright as the sun shining through the windows.

He slowly turned around to find that beautiful redhead wearing a blue dress and a pair of high heels standing there. She smiled liking the way his eyes were letting her know she looked good and the way his smirk was giving away what he had on his mind.

She looked away to the counter and fetched for one of the grapes he had for her. She brought it to her lips and nibbled on it.

"Sweet Jesus~" He murmured into her ear, unable to keep himself from wrapping his arms around her waist and nibble on her earlobe.

Claire giggled and pulled his plate closer. She stared to work something with her fruit on his pancake while his lips got distracted on her neck. Once she was done, she gently pulled back. She had used the fruit and seeds to give his pancake some life, and now it was a cute Dracula. She smiled and tilted her head.

"You are so cute." He pushed the plate to the side, demanding all her attention. The kids with their backs on them.

She giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck and curving her body against his. "Did you cut his pancake?" She asked softly.

"Yes, ma'am." He smiled.

She nodded and gently pressed her lips against his. Claire kissed him lovingly, her fingers moving around his neck pulling him closer. Owen's hands rested on her waist just for a moment before finding their way around her ass making her giggle and take a few steps back close to the stove counter to hide them from the kids' view.

"Are you guys done with your breakfast?" Claire asked with a sense of urgency in her voice. Not because they had to get ready for school, but because Owen was starting to get a little carried away and his fingers were working on pulling that tight dress slightly up her legs.

"Lizzie, go take a shower." He asked his kid who without any questioning, stood up from the table and ran off to do as told, "and you, buddy...I don't know, go back to your room and count til a thousand before coming back out."

Claire was biting some of her fruit with the fork while Owen got rid of the kids, her body still pinned between the counter and his frame.

"A thousand!?" Mason shook his head, "I can only count till a hundred." He explained.

"The math homework from last week had nothing to do with a thousand, then?" Owen curved an eyebrow.

Caught in his lie, Mason pushed the chair away from the table and headed to his bedroom.

"Have I told you that I think is sexy that you help him with homework?" Claire ran her fingers down his orange pumpkin long-sleeve pajama top.

"How sexy?" He groaned pressing her tight against the counter.

"So sexy that it almost overshadows this goofy looking pumpkin." She laughed.

Owen chuckled and pulled the pajama top off over his head and threw it onto the counter behind her, "what about now?" He puffed his chest feeling her warm hands admiring the lines of his muscles.

The redhead gulped, "now I'm afraid I'll be late for work and they will never make it to school." She teased, biting on her lower lip.

"I'll take your word on that..." He abruptly pulled her up and sat her on the counter, his lips hungrily brushing down her cleavage.

"Owen, c'mon..." She tried to stop him since this wasn't prudent at all. "They will catch us one day and —" She blushed.

"And they will learn the bees and birds and all that crap sooner." He shook her concern off, his fingers running up her inner thigh.

"Babe~" She stopped his hands, gripping tight from his wrists.

"Come here." He pulled her against his chest and had her straddle his hips. She laughed watching him carry her away through the isle. He reached for Mason's door, "get in the shower after Lizard is done, okay?" He requested before closing it.

Claire giggled and held tighter, Owen ran the rest of the isle over to her bedroom and locked the door behind them.

* * *

Owen was usually the one to take the kids to the bus stop. He would ride his bike with Lizzie in front of him and Mason holding tight behind him. The stop was only a few blocks away from Claire's apartment so they always got away with this.

After dropping them off and making sure they were on that bus, he headed to work. Since meeting Claire, he had worked on putting his life together, not only for her but also for Lizzie. He had gotten a job at a construction site and had worked his way up, he was now the site supervisor. This gave him a nice flexible schedule, one he took advantage of when it came to go visit and surprise his girlfriend at work for lunch.

Today being Halloween, he also wanted to try convince her to put a costume together. He knew the kids would love it if the two of them dressed up for trick or treating later that afternoon.

The couple found themselves locked in a wardrobe room at the museum where Claire worked at. There were all sorts of costumes in boxes and rags that the museum used for their display or the activities they did for kids from time to time.

They were fighting over how she was refusing to put on some goofy looking costume while making out around the small space. It was an interesting combination; to fight and make out simultaneously, but they had it mastered by then.

"Just give them this one thing!" Owen insisted while she walked away from him. "It's not the end of the world to dress up for one evening." He rolled his eyes at her stubbornness.

"I don't have any intentions on looking stupid." She shrugged, her hands getting distracted with some of the costumes around. She had a top of sorts in her hands.

"You could be Loana." He smirked stepping closer and showing her a small caveman garment.

"Screw you..." She hit him on the shoulder with the one piece of clothing she had in her hands.

"You'd be the sexiest cavewoman out there." He laughed after feeling the hit. His arms around her waist pushing her against the rack behind her, "I know you wake up my primitive instincts~" He howled.

"Fuck you!" She chuckled, pushing his hands off of her.

He kept pushing her into the closet hoping to find a wall where to pin her. She stumbled with a box and fell on her ass inside of it, bringing him down with her.

She screamed and laughed before pulling out of it and sitting on the floor beside him.

"Did you get hurt?" He chuckled, the box completely smashed. "Look what your fine ass did." He teased her and opened the box to see what was inside.

"No." She laughed, "I'm just glad I didn't fall on your balls, I need those intact..." She played along about the damaged box.

Inside, he found a cute forest ranger hat and other accessories that apparently completed the outfit. Owen brushed some of the dust off the hat making her sneeze, "bless you." He offered kissing the top of her nose. He reached out with the hat but she pulled away. "Please~" He pouted, "this green against your eyes, I'll melt." He murmured.

Claire nibbled on her lower lip and nodded softly. He gently placed the hat over her head and fixed her red hair a little bit, "My character for tonight officially has a massive crush on this lovely forest ranger." He pecked her lips lovingly.

Claire rolled her eyes and sighed before offering a smile. "No photos." She insisted, pointing out her index finger. "And I'm just doing this because I don't want your interplanetary policeman, or whatever you called him, to be crushing on some green bitch." She argued possessively.

"He would never!" Owen promised, "not after meeting this beautiful redhead." He tilted his head, kissing the curve of her jaw. "Green never looked so good for him until meeting you..." He mumbled kissing gently up to her ear.


	2. Part Two

Owen and the kids were working on getting in their costumes for their afternoon out trick or treating while they waited for Claire to make it home from work. He had hers pressed and ready on her bed, he was glad they had managed to put together the entire outfit after looking around that wardrobe room. He had brought back with him everything from the pants and shirt, to the boots, hat, and even a belt along with the little badge and other small accessories they had found in that box.

Mason was the proudest one of the kids when it came to their costume. Owen had helped him put something together. The kid was wearing a pair of dark brown jeans and a grey dress shirt under a brown leather vest. Owen buckled the kid's belt around his waist and fixed a rifle toy against his back. He made sure his combat boots were perfectly tied and smiled to the kid, "Ooof, you look badass, dude!" He nodded and high fived the kid.

"I'm the best raptor wrangler there is!" He bounced happily. "I can't wait to show mom!" He exclaimed with excitement.

"Wait—" Owen removed his wristwatch and put it around Mason's wrist. "NOW, you are the best." He winked.

Mason grinned and without saying a word hugged him from his waist.

Owen smiled, resting his hand against the back of the kid's head, holding him close. Mason was the sweetest of kids, and there were many things he found to have in common with the kid, this had made them bond quite fast and now they were the best of buddies there could be.

"Lets go see if Lizard needs some help with hers." Owen suggested once Mason had let go of their hug. The kid nodded but got distracted by his mom's mirror where he spent some minutes checking his outfit.

Lizzie was slipping her feet in a pair of white flats. It didn't matter how much she had insisted, Brenda hadn't allowed her to wear heels. Owen didn't mess with his ex, so he had found a way to have the blonde girl accept the shoes. The seven-year-old was wearing a white skirt and white button down blouse, as well as a white jacket over her shoulders and a cute little white belt. She had decided to be a 'woman in charge' for Halloween.

"Mommy!" Mason ran off out of Claire's room after hearing the door being opened and jumped into her arms.

"Hey handsome." She smiled and kissed his forehead before adjusting him on her arms. She had no idea what the kids would be for Halloween, they wanted to surprise her since they had worked hard with Owen to put the outfits together.

She noticed Owen's wristwatch on him and smiled to herself, "I'm a raptor wrangler!" He explained.

Claire nodded and put him down, her boyfriend smiling at her a few feet away. She nibbled on her lower lip checking out his outfit and tilted her head, "that's not what I pictured when you said you'd be some half alien policeman." She smirked.

He was wearing a pair of racing leather pants and a crew tee under a red leather jacket. He had yet to put his accessories on.

She walked closer and playfully turned him around to check his ass in those leather pants, "but this is much better." She gently slid her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. "That's for helping him with his costume." She was moved and thankful, he could see it in her eyes. The redhead then kissed him deeper, her hands cupping both his butt cheeks; "and that's for looking sexy as hell." Owen smirked and soundly kissed her again.

"Yuck." Mason wrinkled his nose watching both adults forgetting he was still standing there.

"Where's Lizzie?" Claire wondered, pulling away from Owen and looking around.

The redhead had found the kid quietly looking down her costume. She didn't feel like a woman in charge in it, so she was a little disappointed.

"Hey gorgeous, why the pout?" Claire wondered, hiding something behind her back.

Lizzie sat on the edge of Mason's bed and shrugged.

"I like your skirt." The redhead complimented as she walked into the bedroom and kneeled by the bed next to her. "You know what you need to make it really work?" Her tone of voice was soft, she reached out to caress her pouty cheek.

"What?" The kid sniffed.

"Can you keep a secret?" Claire asked her, slowly bringing what she was hiding to the front. She opened the shoebox she was holding and showed her a pair of white heels.

Lizzie's hazel eyes were bright and her smile was big. She reached out for them and put them on. She happily jumped off the bed so she could feel them on her. They fit perfectly.

"We can't tell your mom, alright?" Claire had her promised.

Lizzie nodded in agreement; Brenda would never find out. "I promise."

"I think you should lose this jacket." Claire slowly removed it from over her shoulders. Once she knew Lizzie was okay with her readjusting her outfit, the redhead unbuttoned her blouse, revealing that the blonde girl had a purple tank top under it. She also took the belt off.

"I want to be in charge." Lizzie explained.

Claire tied the white blouse up around her waist and adjusted her long sleeves rolling them up, as well as fixing her skirt a little bit. She smiled watching how the whole outfit had a different vibe to it.

"What does that mean?" The kid wondered about the modifications the adult had done to her costume.

"It means you are ready to go." Claire winked at her.

Lizzie sighed and turned to look at herself in the mirror. "I look badass now." She grinned.

"You definitely look like someone who can kick some butt." Claire agreed.

"I wish I could wear your hair with my costume; you are the mostest woman in charge I know."

Claire chuckled, slightly moved by her words. The fact that her boyfriend's daughter looked up to her meant a lot. She reached out for the gold nameplate necklace she was wearing and gently put it around the kid's neck. "Now you not only are in charge, but also ready to save that raptor wrangler's butt from getting eaten." She winked at her through the mirror.

* * *

Claire lived in a very quiet apartment complex in the suburbs. Her neighborhood was very friendly for most part and the kids had never had issues trick or treating around. Some years it was more quiet than others, the population had been growing as the area became popular, this year more kids could be seen running around in their costumes excited to get some candy and to hang out with their friends. Some of the older ones even riding their bikes through the streets beating the small ones to the houses that were most known for their Halloween spirit and gave the best of candy.

Claire was already trying to mentally figure out how old was old enough for these two monkeys to start doing the trick or treating on their own. She loved her kid, but it took double energy to try stop him from misbehaving on a day when he was enabled by society to play tricks unless bribed with candy. The image of letting him loose on the street was terrifying and that was before adding Lizzie to the picture.

The redhead sighed in disappointment realizing she'd be doing this until they grew out of it. Owen smiled faintly after hearing her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pressing his lips against her temple. She looked up and smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Look to both sides of the street before crossing, please!" Owen called out watching the kids running off to their next house.

"What do you have in there?" Claire asked curious once they found a bench to sit while waiting for the kids to trick or treat along the block.

"Nothing." He hugged his leather shoulder military messenger bag.

She narrowed her eyes, it didn't look like it was empty. "It looks very heavy for nothing." She tilted her head.

Owen shrugged and taking it off he set it on the floor away from her. "That thing is huge." She was positive the original character didn't carry one that big around, even when she was not familiar with him.

"It was the one I had." He cleared his throat and resting his arm behind her shoulders, he let his fingers play with the ends of her hair.

"Does this still work?" She got distracted with the Walkman he had clipped to his belt. She reached out and pulled his headphones from around his neck and pressing play on the old cassette she tried to listen to what it started playing.

He softly reached out for her forest ranger hat and rested it on his lap. Owen took the headphones away from her and carefully set them on her head, the song 'Hook on a Feeling' by Blue Swede was playing.

Claire laughed and resting the headphones around her neck, she let the song play while her hands got curious with the rest of his accessories. She found the nerf quad blaster he was carrying around and pointing it out at him she fired it, the toy spat a dart hitting him on the chest. She brought it closer and study the pistol, "where do you hide your toys every time you have your girlfriend over?" She teased him, knowing very well that orange blaster didn't belong to Mason.

Owen offered a playful smirk and pulled her closer before kissing her softly, "You are very curious this afternoon, gorgeous." He pointed out, his index finger caressing her jawline.

"It's this stupid uniform you made me wear." She playfully grinned.

Owen fixed the badge pinned in her green jacket and shook his head, "you look adorable." He assured her.

"I feel like Yogi Bear will come out of nowhere and steal all my food." She frowned.

"No, you look like even dragons would fall for you." He insisted.

"Dragons? There are no dragons in the forest, you dummy." She giggled, nudging him playfully.

He laughed and leaning closer kissed down her jaw before finding her lips and pecking them tenderly, "God, I love you." He moaned.

"What?" Claire murmured pulling back lightly, her green eyes steadily fixed on his.

"What?" He froze for a second realizing what he had just confessed, but smiled softly before cupping her cheeks and tucking her messy red hair behind her ears.

The redhead smiled shyly and nibbled on her lower lip.

"I've never told you that before, have I?" He murmured, smiling lovingly her way.

Claire could feel her cheeks warm, she was blushing. She shook her head offering a soft smile.

"No?" He chuckled, his arm around her shoulders pulling her closer having her snuggle close. "Well—"

"Owen..." The raptor wrangler interrupted them, Lizzie standing a step behind him.

Claire groaned, after almost six months Mason was still finding the most inappropriate moments to interrupt them. She scratched her throat softly trying not to look too irritated by her son. She looked away before her eyes fell on the kid whispering something into the adult's ear. The redhead curved an eyebrow, curious on what was it that they were whispering about.

"I promise I'll make this up to you." Owen said apologetically and taking the kids' candy holders, he handed them over to Claire. "We'll be right back." He added before picking his bag up and heading across the street with the kids.

* * *

There was more than nothing in Owen's bag, the reason behind this one being heavy was that he had countless of toilet paper rolls in there, he also had snuck a handful of egg cartons (carefully sheltered by the toilet paper), some shaving cream cans, and a few rolls of Saran Wrap. How did he have managed to fit all of this in one military bag? He had years of experience.

Since Owen was about nine, he and his friends had noticed that the trick part was more fun than the treat one when it came to Halloween. They couldn't believe they had wasted all those years asking for candy when they could have been playing pranks around the neighborhood. Now that they had developed an interest for the tricking part, Owen and his group of friends would go out there with their bikes and make sure every cranky neighbor got what they deserved on Halloween night. They did every classic one; cover houses in toilet paper, egged doors and windows, and used shaving cream to draw on walls. Now that he found himself to be in the parent's shoes, it felt like he was passing down the torch — after all, it would have been very hypocritical of him to tell the kids no when they asked for his help.

The previous year, Mason and Lizzie had been caught with their candy bags holding a dozen eggs each. They were going to go smash them against all those houses where they refused to give candy. Of course their little plan didn't make it through the door under Brenda's watch. It had been very disappointing and it had almost gotten them in a lot of trouble.

But this time around, they were no longer fools and naive. In their state of mind, they were convinced that last year they were only six but now they were old and being seven meant they had better plans... or in their case, they had been smart enough to team up with an adult-child like Owen.

The grown man, if you could call him that, had enabled the kids to the point of telling them to leave mercy at the door of the house. It was Halloween and everybody knew the rules.

The two kids had been trick or treating out down the block for about ten minutes or so, every house had been giving them candy so they were happily skipping about down the sidewalk, both adults were left behind them back on that bench while enjoying a moment without the kids.

Mason and Lizzie walked into the yard of their next house, just as told they rang the bell, "trick or treat!" They called out. There was someone home, the kids could tell because the sound of the television made it all the way out to the porch.

Still, there was no answer. The kids had called out three times before giving up and feeling ignored. That's when they went get dad. They had set the trick part of the deal without him; he was just needed for the matches. Owen might have been a carefree type of man, but he was still a parent responsible enough to prevent the kids to play with fire.

"Lets see if this will make them come out the door." He laughed watching Mason and Lizzie setting their prank on the floor before he could do the honors and turn a match on.

"You are so cool!" Mason was thrilled that an adult had finally been able to understand them.

"You are the bestest daddy in the whole world!" Lizzie agreed.

By this, It had been over ten minutes since Claire had been left behind taking care of the candy back at the bench. She had decided to walk and meet them up. She gathered all their stuff and started to walk down the street.

The first thing that hit her was an awful smell coming from ahead. She looked around noticing kids were pinching their noses and walking away to the opposite direction. The smell got stronger by the second. Claire found both kids and Owen running across the street laughing after leaving that one house.

"What are you guys doing?" She wondered fanning her hand close to her nose, trying to keep herself from gaging. "Come on, lets get out of here." She motioned with her hand.

"Just trick or treating." Owen laughed and winked at the kids.

"Yeah. Just trick or treating." They both nodded simultaneously.

Claire tilted her head finding the whole thing way too suspicious, "hmmm." She narrowed her eyes, Owen's arm wrapping around her waist while she handed each kid back their candy holder. "Ugh, you smell like dog poop." Claire looked away.

Both kids giggled full of guilt, Mason slowly hiding the fart spray in the front pocket of his jeans.

"HEY, YOU ASSHOLES!" The man from the house had finally come out to see what was the smell invading his property and where was it coming from.

The redhead frowned and looked over, but Owen was fast to turn her around so they could start walking, "don't pay attention to him." He shook his head, his lips quickly pressing a kiss on her cheek to distract her while they kept walking. Both kids running off to the next house so they could get more candy.

The owner of that house left behind them, dealing with the flaming bag of dog poop at his front door.

The redhead gave Owen a look and shook her head, she was a little disappointed. Claire still let him shower her with affection while they walked away from that house. She'd talk to him later, without the kids present.

Claire didn't let them stay alone from that point on, she'd walk to the door with them and wait for the kids to collect their candy and say thank you before offering the person a lovely evening. The kids hated being this over the top polite, so it was her way to make them pay for that shady stunt they had pulled off with the dog poop. She knew her boyfriend was involved too, but he would pay later.

"Good evening, I am Mason and this is my best friend Lizzie." The boy smiled to the person at their next door, his green eyes looking over to his mom who nodded. "We are trick or treating." Lizzie finished, a grin in her lips.

"What a lovely pair of kids." The old lady at the door smiled, "and the most polite too." She already had a bag of butterfinger chocolate fun size bars in her hand. "You get three each for having good manners." She reached into her bag of candy.

"Yes!" The kids fist bumped watching her drop the bars into their candy holders.

"See, being good pays off." Claire smiled, "now what do you say?"

"Thank you, ma'am." The kids bowed. "Have a nice evening." They waved before turning around and meeting Owen on the sidewalk.

He grabbed both kids from their hands and headed to the next house. Claire waited down the steps, watching Owen and the kids ring the bell to that one door. Mason was the one to ring and waited for the door to be answered. Lizzie frowned after a few seconds of silence and rang the doorbell again.

Both kids turned to look at Claire and she shrugged, her eyes finding Owen who was trying to figure out a way to peek inside through the windows. He did manage to caught a shadow and his arm reached out for the doorbell, he pressed the button letting it buzz for about ten seconds trying to trigger the person and get the door; every adult knew that there was nothing more annoying than having an insisting person at the door ringing and knocking.

"TRICK OR TREAT!" Both kids called out, but they got no response.

"Come on, lets try the next house." Claire called out for the kids to follow her, it was her turn to take them to the door.

They pouted and looking down started to walk down the steps. Owen was still not giving up. He kept buzzing that doorbell like there was no tomorrow.

"FUCK OFF!" He finally got a response.

One that made him chuckle and now that he knew the insisting doorbell was in fact annoying the house owner, he kept doing it.

"Owen..." Claire called out for him to leave it alone.

"I almost got this, babe." He turned back and smiled to the kids. He hated watching them so let down. "If people are home, then they are going to give my kids some candy." He stated before pressing on that doorbell again.

He got Claire with that one, she sighed and smiled to herself, her arm gently holding Mason around before she pressed a kiss on the top of his head. She then reached for Lizzie's hand, the three of them witnessing Owen trying to get that person out the door.

He started buzzing the doorbell to the rhythm of 'La Cucaracha'. Claire was still standing there with both kids by their hands, "babe, come on." She tried not to laugh. "It will start getting dark soon."

Owen kept his little song going, and even started to mix up his buzzing while knocking at the door too. "La cucaracha..." he started singing while his finger pressed on the doorbell and his palm kept the beat of the rhythm against the wooden door, "la cucaracha...ya no puede caminar."

Both kids were laughing, the redhead was trying not to since she didn't think this was a behavior she should enable in front of the kids.

The person of the house finally threw the door open, ready to fight whatever clown was standing on his porch and giving him a headache with that damn doorbell. But it was until he saw Owen's size when he kept himself from physically fighting him, "what the fuck do you want, asshole?"

"He keeps using the F-word." Lizzie pointed out. "And he said as—"

Claire covered Mason's mouth with her hand, "it's not okay to repeat it, you know that."

"Trick or treat, punk." Owen explained.

"We just want some candy." Lizzie frowned after letting go of Claire's hand and walking to stand by her dad.

"Then have your mom and dad get you some." He suggested condescendingly.

"It's Halloween!" She explained, not scared to face this guy.

"Do I look like someone who cares?" He wondered.

"No, but you are ugly." The blonde girl spat before frowning.

"And you are an idiot."

"Hey!" Claire stepped in. She was fast to pull Owen back from his jacket and stand between both guys, keeping her boyfriend behind her back, blocking him from getting to this guy. She took Lizzie's hand and moved her away from him. "They are kids, that was really uncalled for!"

"Your husband is an idiot too." He turned to look at Owen who was now trying to fight the need to punch him in the face for insulting his daughter, this jackass was lucky Claire had found a way to keep him blocked in a way where he would have to hurt her to get to him. Claire wanted to kill him as much as Owen did, but she knew they needed to keep it under control and give both kids a good example on how to deal with bullies. "Fuck off, Losers." He turned around and slammed the door behind him.

The redhead jumped back a little at the sound and looked over to Owen, "time for you to get what you have in that bag out and give it a good use." She tilted her head, crossing her arms against her chest. She was a mom before anything else, Claire had known all along that he had been carrying all sorts of stuff in that stuffed bag.

He smiled, "am I in trouble?" He asked, taking the military bag off and setting it on the floor.

"No." She shook her head with a light smile, "not any more."

Owen smirked playfully and started to bring everything out so they all could attack the house. He handed each kid an egg carton whom didn't lose time before slamming those eggs against each door and window. They laughed running around the house making sure it got egged in its entirety.

Owen worked with the toilet paper and the shaving cream. He left some obscene drawings on his living room window and finished the cans on his door, making sure not one spot was left without it. He then took the rolls of toilet paper and made them fly across his house as well as letting them roll down his ceiling, some of them he used to cover the bushes and trees in his yard.

Claire had grabbed the Saran Wrap and taken the liberty to tightly wrap his car around with it. She made sure the layer of nylon was specially thick around the doors and windows, she also wrapped some of the nylon around the tires. By the time she was done, the car looked as if it was ready to be shipped off.

It took the little group of vandals about fifteen minutes to use everything Owen had been carrying around in that military bag on this guy's house (and car). Claire rang the bell one last time and all four of them ran down the street, leaving him to come out to the door and find the little present the Grady-Dearing squad had left for him.

Both kids and Claire were screaming and laughing while they kept running on their way back home.

* * *

It had been a long day and the kids being sleep deprived from the previous night had helped both parents get them to bed early. They were showered and back in their spooky pajamas by the time Claire had the second part of their movie marathon ready.

The first one to have fallen asleep was Mason, they were in the middle of watching Hocus Pocus when Claire noticed he was sound asleep by the edge of the bed. She checked on Lizzie who was still zoning in and out.

"Ready for bed, princess?" Claire asked softly, brushing her blonde hair off her face.

"No way! Daddy said until we pass out." She yawned, fighting sleep.

"Alright." Claire murmured before adjusting and curled up next to Owen against the headboard. She reached for some of the popcorn and quietly nibbled on it while watching the movie.

"Should I take him to bed?" Owen asked about the boy who had given up and let sleep win.

"Thank you." She nodded.

Owen stepped off the bed and walking around it, he carried Mason in his arms and brought him to his own room.

Claire let her eyes follow him leave and nibbled on her lower lip before quietly following them. She hid behind the door frame, watching her boyfriend tuck her son in bed. Owen gently made sure Mason was covered in his dinosaur sheets and picking his T-Rex toy up he kissed her snout, "goodnight Rexy." He did as Mason would have asked if he were awake. He tucked the plush toy next to the boy and gently ran his fingers through his dark hair, "goodnight buddy." He smiled down before slowly stepping around to fix the inflatable air mattress they had for Lizzie.

The redhead had headed over to the kitchen once she watched Owen moved on to working on the other kid's bed. She fetched into the fridge for a bottle of wine and then went looking for a couple of glasses in the cupboard. She reached out to wipe the couple of tears she felt escaping her eyes before she opened the bottle and poured some wine in the glasses.

She sobbed tenderly before feeling that pair of strong warm arms around her waist, his lips against her ear nibbling on her lobe. "She finally gave in, both are sound sleep in their beds." He filled her in before gently turning her around.

Owen frowned and tenderly brushed the tears pampering her cheeks, "You are crying..." He murmured.

She smiled faintly and sniffed before kissing him lovingly, her arms gently hugging his neck.

"Come here..." He handed her one glass of wine and he took the other one before holding her hand and walking to the couch.

Claire sat and gulped half of her wine so she could try calm down. She had no idea how to express how much it meant to her the little bond he had built with her son. If it was too much to let him know that not only Mason, but her had always hoped he'd have something like this — a father figure of sorts, but she never thought it would happen.

Owen sat next to her, gently bringing her legs across his lap. He smiled at her and brushed her hair back from her pamper face. He used kisses to drink her tears away, his smile still curved in his face.

The redhead smiled back and nibbled on her lower lip, watching him take her left hand in his. Owen reached into the front pocket of his orange pajama pants and opened the wrapper of the little thing he had for her.

She chuckled and blushed at the sight of it. She sniffed and tilted her head watching him slid a green Ring Pop around her ring finger before bringing her hand up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss on it.


End file.
